I let our dogs out a night or two ago, for a last wander before bed. The sky was clear with abundant stars, and over the field, in the glow from our outside light, the owl was skimming the bracken.

I watched for a minute or so, spotting his/her return, passing the end of our house to the favourite perching place on the barn opposite.

Now I'd like to think that this is a pose to camera, but 'Robin' does appear in this photograph to sadly only have one leg, throwing balance out, hence the quirky lean to the left. If anyone knows otherwise (that owls have a unique way of resting a leg out of sight) I'd love to know!

GH.

As I pulled back the curtains last Sunday morning, grateful for the extra hour in bed, it seemed I was not the only one!

Clearly visible in the daylight, not one, as before, (see earlier blog post) but two Barn Owls, eyes closed snoozing away the morning. I ran upstairs to our son's room, which is virtually opposite their wall hole, and captured this amazing image.

I'd love them to be one male and one female. They can then be affectionately known as 'Robin' and 'Virginia' after our guests who spotted we had an Owl the week before. Anyone reading this who knows anything about Owl gender please let us know! (Quite liking the idea of an Owl called 'Robin'!).

GH

We had been hearing strange 'rasping' noises outside our barn for a week or two, usually around dusk. I had been meaning to go and take a look, but it was our guests in Green Brae who pointed out that we had an Owl in residence!

The next evening I set up camera/tripod/flash with the longest lens I had available (300mm), pre-focused on the hole - where I was told it appeared from - and waited . . . 

As the light fell I started to see a blurred shape emerging from behind the rock. With still just enough ambient light available, the view through my lens revealed the character you see here and, as he/she(?) peered out I capture this image.

A moment or two later and the Owl moved forward and took flight from the barn, a picture I missed.  As it circled above in the still clear azure twilight, a silhouette of outstretched wings, I felt so privileged to witness such a creature for the first time. 

With virtually no light left to see by and, as I had moved the camera no chance to focus again on the hole, I thought I caught the presence of another shape. A second Owl? But more of that later!